Semana Santa (Holy Week) & Easter 2025 in Spain

Semana Santa and Easter usually fall in late March and/or early April, depending on the year. The festivities in Spain begin on Palm Sunday (Domingo de Ramos) and last until Easter Monday (Lunes de Pascua), with the most massive parades held on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. The feast climax is on Easter Sunday: after attending churches and religious processions, families gather to have special meals with Easter eggs, pork sausages, and Italian Easter bread.

Holy Week Processions

Each region of Spain celebrates Semana Santa in its unique way, yet Holy Week processions remain a shared tradition across the country. These processions are typically organized by groups and associations known as "cofradías." The participants, called "nazarenos," march through the streets, traveling from their local churches to the main cathedral. Each procession features a large cross and elaborately decorated floats known as "pasos," often adorned with statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. The solemn atmosphere is enhanced by marching bands that accompany the nazarenos with stirring music. All participants wear "capirote" hoods, which completely conceal their faces, along with loose robes—traditional attire symbolizing sinners seeking penance.

Andalusia

Semana Santa in Andalusia is a week full of color, art, religious fervor, and great processions. Málaga and Seville host the most impressive processions and parades, many of which have been preserved since the Middle Ages. In Malaga, Semana Santa features vibrant parades with music, floral scents, and tronos—massive ornate floats carried by hundreds, depicting scenes from the Passion. Penitents in purple robes and women with candles accompany the processions.

Seville's Semana Santa, world-renowned for its grandeur, showcases pasos—life-size artistic floats dating back centuries, carried by costaleros through crowded streets. The highlight is La Madruga, the night between Holy Thursday and Good Friday when processions converge at Seville Cathedral to commemorate Christ's trial and crucifixion.

Madrid

Madrid offers a vibrant and meaningful experience during Holy Week and Easter. From Good Friday to Easter Sunday, the city comes alive with processions, where the beating of drums, trumpets, and colorful brotherhood costumes create an unforgettable atmosphere.

The city honors the passion and death of Jesus Christ with grand devotion and parallel cultural events. Churches and basilicas host sacred music concerts, while brotherhoods parade intricate floats through the streets. Madrid's restaurants and bakeries contribute with traditional Holy Week dishes.

Good Friday features the city's most famous processions, including the Cristo de Medinaceli, starting at the Jesús de Medinaceli parish, and others like Alabarderos, Jesús Nazareno "el pobre," and the solemn silent procession, all commemorating Christ's passion and death.

León

León's Easter traditions, dating back to the 16th century, span 10 days of deeply moving celebrations organized by 16 hermandades (lay brotherhoods). These events include around 30 processions, musical rituals, concerts, and special sermons, involving 16,000 lay brothers and drawing large crowds of locals and visitors. From the appearance of the Virgen del Camino figure to the release of doves on the final Sunday morning, the festivities are filled with emotionally charged moments.

Among the most remarkable highlights are the procession of Cristo de las Injurias, featuring figures depicting the Passion, and the Ronda and Procession of Los Pasos. Throughout Maundy Thursday night, lay brothers create a haunting melody with bells, clarinets, and drums to announce the Holy Friday procession at 7:30 am, showcasing 13 sacred images. One of the most anticipated moments is the meeting of the Virgin of Sorrows and Saint John in the Plaza Mayor.

Salamanca

Around 20 dramatic processions with hundreds of penitents carrying flags, crosses, or candles make Semana Santa in Salamanca one of the most important celebrations in the country. Easter week here is a deeply moving and spectacular celebration where religious devotion, art, color, and music come together to honor and commemorate the death of Jesus Christ. Main Holy Week events in the city include Procession of the Via Matris and Traslado of Cristo de la Liberación on Good Friday, Procession of La Borriquilla, Procession of Jesús Despojado, and Procession of El Perdón on Palm Sunday.

Zamora

Zamora's Easter celebrations date back to the 13th century and are renowned for their striking contrast between daytime and nighttime processions. The nocturnal processions, marked by silence and meditation, include the Jesús Yacente brotherhood's solemn Maundy Thursday parade, featuring a 17th-century Christ statue and the haunting Miserere sung at midnight. Meanwhile, daytime processions are filled with light and music, creating a more vibrant atmosphere.

Highlights include the legendary Cristo de las Injurias on Easter Wednesday and the historic Vera Cruz brotherhood's procession on Maundy Thursday. On Good Friday, the La Congregación Procession delivers deeply emotional moments, particularly when the Camino del Calvario statue appears and the Virgen de la Soledad receives a moving tribute on Tres Cruces Avenue, met with thunderous applause from the crowd.